AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | Sixteen-year-old Anna Davis admittedly didn’t know much about the Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur or even most of the young women she played against this week. Rest assured, they all know who Davis is now.
Embracing the role of unheralded underdog, Davis shot a relatively care-free 69 on Saturday at Augusta National and ended up the only player to finish under par to claim the third ANWA by one stroke. Latanna Stone, 20, played the last two holes in 3-over to come up a shot short and tie with her hard-charging LSU teammate Ingrid Lindblad, 21, for second.
“I'm still a little shocked. I don't think it's processed yet that I've won here, but it's pretty surreal, to be honest,†said the preternaturally composed Davis, who became the youngest winner of the ANWA. “I'm speechless. I can't even fathom what just happened. It all happened very quickly.â€
Davis – a bucket-hat wearing left-hander who failed her California driver’s license test and is still too young to even talk to college recruiters – made her ANWA debut with no expectations. The winner of the 2021 AJGA Heather Farr Classic and Girls Junior PGA Championship didn’t even let the largest crowds she’s ever seen faze her.
“I wasn't as nervous for some reason … I knew I was kind of an underdog in the field,†she said. “I didn't have as much pressure on me to do extremely well, so I was just out there having fun.â€
At one point in the middle of Saturday’s final round, 12 of the 30 players who made the cut to play Augusta National were within one shot of one another vying for the lead at either 1- or 2-over par. That’s when Davis made her move, making birdie at 9 and then back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13. Five pars later sent her into the clubhouse at 1-under 215.
“I was just trying to stay consistent and not make any dumb mistakes or anything like that,†Davis said.
“I wasn't as nervous for some reason … I knew I was kind of an underdog in the field. I didn't have as much pressure on me to do extremely well, so I was just out there having fun.â€
Anna Davis
At that point it was up to Stone to do the same. The 36-hole co-leader with Beatrice Wallin seemed poised to win after backing up birdies at 12 and 13 with another on 16 to get to 3-under overall with a two-shot lead. But she pitched long on the 17th green and three-putted for double, then failed to get up and down at 18 after driving into the trees.
“It's just heartbreaking, you know?†Stone said. “I kind of knew where I stood on 17, and I was just thinking par out. I just didn't have the right club and kind of left myself with a difficult up-and-down. I was trying to be aggressive and just kind of lost it. But I thought I could get it back on 18, but I had a lot going on in my head with where I was at.â€
Stone’s LSU teammate, Lindblad of Sweden, shot the low round Saturday, a 68 that included eagles at Nos. 8 and 15. But she, too, bogeyed 18 to post the early clubhouse lead at even par.
That left the trophy to Davis, who admitted the only vivid memory she has of the Masters was seeing Tiger Woods two-putt the last hole in 2019 to win: “I've never really watched the Masters on TV, which is a little weird.†The ANWA wasn’t even on her radar until a year ago. Her first impressions of Augusta, however, were “how green it is†and “it sets up perfectly for my game.â€
Davis shared the 18-hole lead on Wednesday after capping a 2-under 70 at Champions Retreat when her somewhat skulled chip on the last hole slammed into the pin and stopped close to the cup for birdie instead of whistling over the green into the rough or potentially the water hazard.
“You see things like that happen, and you are, like, OK, well, that's a sign that there's a good chance that I'm going to win this week,†she said. “Yeah, you just have to take advantage of those moments.â€
Now she’s qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open, where she watched her Junior Solheim Cup teammate Megha Ganne make an inspiring run a year ago. Ganne and fellow teenager Alexa Pano swarmed Davis with hugs after her win Saturday.
“Wow! That's insane. I did not know that,†Davis said when told of the exemption to play with the world’s best women at Pine Needles on June 2-5.
It suits her pursuits, though she won’t be considered an underdog any longer.
“I want to be the best in the world,†she said.
Scott Michaux
